From the miracles of the sayings
of the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, is that
the Arabian Peninsulawas once a lush green land full of trees and rivers.
Prophet Muhammad said, "The Last Hour will
not come… till the land of Arabia once again becomes meadows and
rivers."[1]

There was no way Prophet Muhammad who was illiterate could
have known, given the limitation of scientific and technological capabilities
at the time, such a fact by himself. What is equally striking is that
currently the Arabian Peninsula is the complete opposite of a lush green place.
Instead it has one of the hottest climates in the world, with zero permanent
rivers and about 85% of the 2nd largest desert in the world, the
"Arabian Desert" lies in it as well as the entire largest sand desert in the
world, the "Empty Quarter" (the "Empty Quarter" has an average rainfall of 4
inches annually and temperatures can reach an unbearable 54 degrees
centigrade).[2]

Studies in geology and archeology have recently confirmed
to a degree beyond any doubt that the Arabian Peninsula once had a much cooler
climate and that it truly was a lush green area full of trees, lakes and rivers.
Such is based on the following:

1) Scientists have documented that earth
witnessed its most resent ice age during the Pleistocene
Epoch period that began about 2.59 million years ago and ended about 11,700
years ago.[3] During this period large parts of the earth were covered
in ice and the climate was much cooler than what it is today with average
global temperatures 5°C to 10°C below current average temperatures. While ice
covered parts of Europe, Asia and the America’s, the Arabian Peninsula
witnessed a pleasant climate much like Europe’s current climate.

2) In 2014 researchers in Saudi Arabia discovered
fossilized remains of an elephant in the Nafud Desert. With over 60% of the
elephant’s fossilized bones intact, including an entire tusk, it remarkably
indicates that the Nafud desert once had a climate suitable for elephants to
live in. It is also worth mentioning that the discovered elephant was 50%
larger in size and about twice the weight of the current day elephant.[4]

More so, in 2017 Saudi Arabia’s Centre for International Communication announced the
discovery of fossils of other creatures including crocodiles and seahorses, and
more remarkably the discovery, in total, of 10,000 ancient lake and river beds
across the Arabian Peninsula.[5] Furthermore, in 2017 Dr. Eid Al Yahya, a
well-known archeologist, discovered the first ever fossilized mammoth in Saudi
Arabia; and throughout the past decade has discovered and documented over a
thousand flint spearheads (made of silica) and other advanced large-prey
hunting tools in remote desert locations that indicate that civilizations once
hunted in these now barren areas.

3) The huge discoveries of oil and gas in the
Arabian Peninsula. Oil is the remains of dead microscopic plants and animals that
lived in oceans, rivers or lakes millions of years ago. The lack of oxygen
enabled the dead microorganisms to maintain their hydro-carbon bonds which is
needed for the formation of oil and gas. River basins in particular have low
oxygen levels due to constricted water circulation making them the optimum
place for the formation of oil and gas. Heat and pressure and the passing of millions
of years then caused the formation of oil and gas.[6]

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab
Emirates, as well as other countries in the Arabian Peninsula need no
introduction when it comes to their proven oil reserves. Remarkably the oil
fields in the Arabian Peninsula are both offshore and onshore (over land; not
sea). The legendary Ghawar field in eastern Saudi Arabia is the largest oil
field in the world (in proven reserves), has been operating since the 1950’s,
has an estimated 70 billion barrels of remaining reserves, and remarkably
geographically it is located onshore in both the Empty Quarter and the Arabian
Desert. Likewise, the Burgan field in Kuwait is the 2nd largest oil
field in the world and is also located onshore within the Arabian Desert. The
discovery of such onshore oil fields means that for millions of years, even
before the last ice age started, the Arabian Peninsula was not the dry barren
land it is today, instead was a paradise of lakes, rivers and river basins.

4) Satellite images taken from space have
confirmed that the Arabian Peninsula once had a totally different geography and
climate. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage reported that
in the 1990’s "Landsat" provided imagery of eastern and southern parts of Saudi
Arabia, including the Empty Quarter. The satellite images revealed old trade
routes, river paths and valleys; all of which are now covered by sand dunes.

In conclusion, geological and archeological discoveries confirm
the saying of the Prophet Muhammad, that the Arabian Peninsula was once full of
meadows and rivers; a fact that Prophet Muhammad could not have known by
himself except through revelation from God Almighty.

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